I am looking to go on a cruise this April with my husband and 4 year old. Aside from Disney (cant travel with them because I will be 26 weeks pregnant)which other line is the best for kids that age. Money is not an issue. In addition, are their any cruise lines that offer dining for only the number of persons in your party or do you always have to dine with others?

Check out www.cruisecritic.com - there are options, I am sure, for your situation.

Imrussell:
I would suggest a Celebrity ship but you are very close to their 27th week cut-off date, too.

Since money isn't as issue--why not rent a yacht (hire the crew and all) then you can dine with only the people you allow to board. Take a nanny along for the 4 year old!

Where in the world are you thinking about cruising?

Happy cruising!!

Look at Princess - they have personal choice dining - you can dine at anytime and with who you want - with others or by yourself. Their kids program is pretty good also.

Thanks Theresa for your information. I will look into Princess. Have you ever sailed with them. Is their one ship that you favor over another?

Hi,

Have sailed with them several times.

As far as which ship I prefer - it depends on what you want. The Grand/Golden/Caribbean Princess are very large and provide the most action, they will have more kids, night life will be better, etc. .

The Sun and Dawn and the Coral and Island will have fewer kids but I prefer the ships better. They are better designed INHO and a little smaller then the Grand class ships (but still a nice size). Coral and Island are brand new ships and are very impressive and classy.

Princess limits the amount of kids on each ship but it is not done to discourage kids - they simply want to make sure that they have enough staff to accomodate the amount of kids as opposed to have hundreds of kids and a very small staff to accomodate them.

Over Thanksgiving on the Golden there were 400 kids, on other cruises they run around 200-300 kids.

Princess has Personal Choice dining which basically means you can go down when you want and get a table for 4 (or you can join others). They also have traditional dining for those who prefer that type of dining.

Not sure their policy on pregnancy though. Good luck!

Hi there. We just got back from a Grand Princess cruise on Monday. I have a 4 and 6 year old. The girls absolutely loved the kids program there which is amazing because they don't generally like being "dumped off" at any kind of child care/play centre. They had a blast with the pyjama party, pizza party, Olympics etc. They also enjoyed the splash pool that was never crowded with kids. Any questions, feel free. This was our first cruise, so I can't compare to others. There were never a ton of kids around (either at the Fun Zone or elsewhere) which I think we all appreciated. Good luck.

Just curious; Why is Disney not an option if you are 26 weeks pregnant? I have always found that Royal Carribean has had great children's programs, as does Celebrity. How many kids on board that are your child's age often depends when you are sailing. Of course there will be more children when school is not in session.

DawnCT:
I know with Celebrity, they will not allow pregnant mothers in their 3rd trimester to sail. Evidentally Disney is even earlier (she said 26 weeks).

She will need to check the policies of any mass cruise line to see if they will allow her to board. That is why I suggested she rent a yacht and then she could set her own rules (money was not an issue).

Book Insurance WITH a pre-existing clause like CSA....have fun !

Thanks Theresa, Connie and Dawn for all of your useful information. It has been quite helpful! Yes, Disney's cutoff is 24 weeks which was a little suprising.